Pillar of Nature
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) |guardians = • The original Nature Guardian • martyr Nature Guardian • Bane |token = • Bane's Antler Headdress |restored = • 2nd-4th, after Bane's death |appearances = • • • • • }} The Pillar of Nature is one of the nine Pillars of Nosgoth, and the fourth pillar from the west on the dais. Attuned to the property of Nature, it was preserved by various guardians before coming under the protection of the Human Guardian Bane, and was eventually sundered in the Collapse of the Pillars following his death. Its pillar token was Bane's Antler Headdress. The Pillar appears throughout the entirety of the Legacy of Kain series. Role As one of the Pillars of Nosgoth, the Pillar of Nature appeared throughout the Legacy of Kain series, debuting in Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. The Pillar was present along with its peers in the [[Pillars of Nosgoth (BO1)|Pillars of Nosgoth areas of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain]], ''Legacy of Kain Soul Reaver'', ''Soul Reaver 2'' and ''Legacy of Kain: Defiance'' and could be revisited in all titles after its initial appearance. The Pillar could also briefly be seen in the Blood Omen 2 introduction and was featured in illustrations in comics. Constructed in the period Before Nosgoth's recorded history, the Pillar of Nature was known to have been served by an unnamed Nature Guardian in Nosgoth's early history before her death at the hands of Vorador at the Slaughter of the Circle. In the pre-Blood Omen era the Pillar of Nature was corrupted when Ariel was murdered by the Dark Entity. Upon finding her corpse, her lover - the Guardian of the Pillar of the Mind, Nupraptor - was driven mad by grief and unleashed a frenzy of mental energy, which drove all of his fellow Guardians insane and simultaneously corrupted their Pillars. The Pillar of Nature could be the second, third or fourth of the Pillars to be restored during Kain's initial quest. It was briefly returned to normal when Kain offered Bane's Antler Headdress to it, following the defeat of the Dark Eden triad and Kain's dispatching of Bane. Some time later after the restoration of the other pillars, Kain chose to refuse the Sacrifice and triggered the Collapse of the Pillars. Now rotten to its core, the festering stump of the Pillar of Nature was all that remained, alongside its eight counterparts. Lasting in this state into the late Soul Reaver era the pillar would be visited by Raziel in pursuit of his vendetta against Kain and he too would return to gather advice from Ariel. As Raziel and Kain traveled through time in Soul Reaver 2 and Defiance they would encounter the pillar several more times in different states in different eras - pristine in Nosgoth's early history and the Pre-Blood Omen eras, corrupted in the Pre-Blood Omen and Blood Omen eras, and collapsed in the Blood Omen and Post-Blood Omen eras. Ultimately it was revealed that the Pillar of Nature - like its peers - was constructed by the Ancient Vampires to bind the banishment of their enemies, the Hylden race, into the Demon Realm. It was originally guarded by an Ancient Vampire - the original Nature Guardian - and its creation marked the close of the Vampire-Hylden war. Notes *In Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain, the Pillar of Nature was decorated with leafy motif set against a green background. In Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, this was replaced with a simple grey-colored band. Further games have depicted the Pillar with a green-colored band and the Nature symbol, introduced in Soul Reaver 2. Explaining the changes, series art director Daniel Cabuco commented: "The symbol designs themselves from Blood Omen 1 were pretty craptastic wallpapers. I don't believe they served the intention of making the pillars look serious and powerful. So we designed symbols, just like we did for the clans, the runes, and everything else that was important. There's not that much of a story other than all of us looking at each other as we went over the original designs and saying 'Seriously?! We can't move forward with these as originals.. no way!'" Pillars of Nosgoth areas at DCabDesign (by Bazielim), post #2 (by Daniel Cabuco) One instance of what may be an alternative symbol is seen in Soul Reaver 2's Light Forge. *Though it does appear in the Vorgeschichte, the Pillar of Nature cannot be seen in the ''Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver'' comic, where only the the Pillar of Balance is seen. The Pillar can be seen in the ''Legacy of Kain: Defiance'' comic where its position and colored band allow it to be identified though its symbol appears somewhat simplified. *Like its peers, the Pillar of Nature is seen underground in the Subterranean Pillars Chamber of Soul Reaver 2. Here it bears no identifying marks and only its position allows it to be pinpointed. *The Pillar of Nature is one of three Pillars of Nosgoth that is given particular focus in the Blood Omen 2 introduction along with the Pillar of Energy and the Pillar of Time. The reasoning for this view is ultimately unclear, though it may be related to the visuals of lightning and their link to the principles of Energy and Nature. Gallery BO1-Render-Pillar-Nature.png|Pillar of Nature (BO1) SR1-Pillars-Symbols-Nature.png|Pillar of Nature (SR1) SR2-Pillars-Symbols-Nature.png|Pillar of Nature (SR2) Defiance-Pillars-Symbols-Nature.png|Pillar of Nature (Defiance) BO2-Prologue-020.png|The Nature Pillar (left) in the BO2 intro SR1-Intro-005.png|The Nature Pillar (fourth from left) among others in the SR1 intro Texture-Mural-LightForge-PillarsRaised.png|A possible alternative Nature symbol, among others (SR2). File:Defiance-Fankit-Symbol-Pillars-Nature.png|The recurring symbol representing Nature (Defiance). File:Defiance-Texture-VampireCitadel-PillarSymbol-Nature.png|The recurring symbol representing Nature (Defiance). Comic_002.jpg|Vorgeschichte Legacy of Kain - Defiance p07-08.jpg|Defiance comic Defiance11GameStop.jpg|Defiance comic Appearances * Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain * Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver * Soul Reaver 2 * Blood Omen 2 * Legacy of Kain: Defiance comic * Legacy of Kain: Defiance See also *Pillars of Nosgoth (BO1/''SR1/''SR2/''Sub/''DEF) *Nature *Nature Guardian (Nature Guardian (original)/Martyred Nature Guardian/Malek) *Bane's Antler Headdress *Nature Glyph *Nature fragment *Nature (Reaver enhancement) References Category:Glossary Category:Glossary: Blood Omen glossary Category:Glossary: Blood Omen 2 glossary Category:Glossary: Defiance glossary Category:Glossary: Soul Reaver glossary Category:Glossary: Soul Reaver 2 glossary Category:Navigation Category:Navigation: Blood Omen Category:Navigation: Blood Omen 2 Category:Navigation: Defiance Category:Navigation: Soul Reaver Category:Navigation: Soul Reaver 2